You know very well that it will never happen. The public alone would shout so loud that it would never come to be, let alone the outcry from the manufacturers. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if stations would vote against it.

It would require each and every ATSC equipped device to have a unique ID. The stations would have to constantly field calls from irate viewers attempting to get their brand new device to receive the local stations. The poor owner could end up calling a dozen, or more, stations in a market. The poor stations would have to spend $$$ on equipment, and staff, to manage the constantly changing database.

What about people who have TVs in mobile homes, etc.?

Yep, not gonna happen.

Oh, and

"What do you say Beckett. Wanna have a baby?" - Castle to Det. Beckett"How Long have I been gone?" Alexis after arriving home and seeing Castle and Beckett w/ the baby - Castle - 11/25/13Mr. VideoMy Geek Images

Why does the TV Academy hate Tatiana Maslany so much? I'm not an "Orphan Black" fan but the woman does an amazing one-person showcase of multiple-lead acting talent in every episode I've seen. Last season's snub of her was an aberration, this time it's an unqualified spit in the face of what the award is supposed to represent.

Sorry, off the soapbox I come. But I'm not even a fan of the show and I'm pissed, I can imagine how the fans and producers of the show must feel.

I'm still trying to figure out how Orange is the new Black can be considered a comedy, even by the people who produce the show.

It isn't even close to a comedy. How can they get away with entering it in that category?

This year's list is a mess. Good stuff/actors/actresses get passed over, yet again.

"What do you say Beckett. Wanna have a baby?" - Castle to Det. Beckett"How Long have I been gone?" Alexis after arriving home and seeing Castle and Beckett w/ the baby - Castle - 11/25/13Mr. VideoMy Geek Images

WELCOME TO SWEEDEN
NBC, 9:00 p.m. ET
SERIES PREMIERE: This new NBC series, starring Greg Poehler (Amy’s brother) as an American who experiences culture clash after moving impulsively to Sweden, may sound like the sitcom equivalent of Netflix’s Lillyhammer, which starred Steven Van Zandt as a New York mobster who accepted a witness protection program relocation to Norway, in Lillehammer. But Poehler’s character here, Bruce, is moving not out of fear, but out of love: He’s moved to live with his Swedish girlfriend, Emma, (played by Josephine Bornebusch). Bornebusch is a real find here – beautiful, funny, and seemingly natural, and a good fit for Poehler’s reserved brand of comedy – and the always wonderful Lena Olin, playing Emma’s mother, is laugh-out-loud funny with her droll remarks, even though most of them are subtitled. I really like this new Swedish import series, which also makes room for extended cameos by Amy Poehler, Will Ferrell and others, and I’m not alone.

THE SIXTIES: "THE BRITISH INVASION"
CNN, 10:00 p.m. ET
Tonight’s installment of The Sixties is one that CNN sneak previewed back in February, to coincide with the golden anniversary of the beginning of the British Invasion in 1964. And if you don’t know the particular event that sparked that event, your cultural ignorance in this respect doesn’t exactly please, please me.

RECTIFY
Sundance, 9:00 p.m. ET
First poor Daniel (Aden Young) spent 19 years imprisoned for murder before being released after new evidence exonerated him. Then he was beaten nearly to death, and fell into a coma. Now that he’s out of his coma, as well as out of jail, Daniel is taking his first post-prison trip to a big city – in his case, Atlanta. If you don’t like Atlanta, insert your own joke here.

WORKING THE ENGELS
NBC, 9:30 p.m. ET
SERIES PREMIERE: I’ve been a major fan of Andrea Martin ever since her earliest SCTV days (“Can you drah-ha me to la loto?”), and was amazed by her onstage energy in Pippin. But here, as the matriarch of a goofy clan that finds itself suddenly without a patriarch, even her comic timing can’t make this sitcom as entertaining as it needs to be. It wants to be Arrested Development, but doesn’t come close to gelling, or of making its comic anarchy pay off. Try it for yourself, if you like, but this is more warning than recommendation.

NY MED
ABC, 10:00 p.m. ET
It’s another intense hour for NY Med, with cases that demonstrate just how wide is the range of cases some doctors can deal with on a daily basis. One of tonight’s cases, for example, involves a 19-year-old plane crash victim – he was piloting the plane as a student learning to fly, and his instructor was killed on impact. Also: a tough motorcycle cop who has a stroke at a relatively young age, which reveals a heart defect so serious, he must be operated on immediately

NBC’s new summertime comedy plus, Welcome to Sweden (premiering Thursday night at 9 ET), does so at length in most of its 10 episodes. The network sent all of them for review, and I kept watching until the supply was exhausted. The Swedish language turns out to be intoxicating, with English subtitles provided so that the gentle amusements won’t be lost in translation. Valkommen!

Greg Poehler (top, right), who in real life has lived in Sweden since 2006, joins his sister, Amy Poehler, as the show’s executive producer. A former lawyer, Greg Poehler became a standup comic two years ago, and is married to Sweden native Charlotta Poehler.

For the purposes of Welcome to Sweden, Poehler is a dissatisfied, New York-based accountant to the stars named Bruce Evans. Weary of their constant demands, he relocates to Stockholm with new girlfriend Emma Wiik (Josephine Bornebusch, top, left). She’s a blonde beauty and he’s pretty much a nebbish. But that’s standard operating procedure in American sitcoms, except that it’s usually been a tubby guy landing the looker in series such as King of Queens, According to Jim and -- way back when -- The Honeymooners.

Amy Poehler (right) plays herself -- and a still possessive client of Bruce’s -- in Episodes 1, 3, 7, 9 and 10. Will Ferrell and Gene Simmons also drop in as Will Ferrell and Gene Simmons (Episodes 2 and 4 respectively), while Parks and Recreation co-star Aubrey Plaza is in multiple episodes as a neurotic, self-entitled stalker of Bruce. Abba member Bjorn Ulvaeus largely steals Episode 7, with a skeptical Bruce as his sounding board.

Welcome to Sweden also accommodates Patrick Duffy (below, with Greg Poehler) and Illeana Douglas as Bruce’s off-putting parents. Seen briefly at the end of Episode 5, they come visiting in Episode 6. This doesn’t go very well, of course, and neither does this particular episode, which feels forced and derivative.

The series usually is at its best when in the midst of Emma’s family. The still luminous Lena Olin is terrific as Emma’s bilingual mother, Viveka. Swedish otherwise is the language of choice for Emma’s tall, tradition-bound father, Birger (Claes Mansson). Her dense brother, Gustaf (Christopher Wagelin), and Uncle Bengt (Per Svensson) round out the featured homeland contingent. The latter owns a video store that does next to no business but makes him an encyclopedia of American actors and their roles.

Bruce can be a little too dense in that regard, even looking puzzled when Bengt references Robert De Niro’s signature “You talking to me?” line from Taxi Driver. Emma, on the other hand, is appreciably more mature and worldly. She also has landed a banking job that brings the couple to Stockholm, where Bruce remains adrift, unemployed and often clueless. Both have acclimated themselves to a traditional sitcom greeting, though. Namely, “Honey, I’m home.”

During their varied one-on-one discourses, Emma and her mother still talk in the native tongue. These are splendid scenes through and through. Plus you’ll get to improve your reading comprehension.

Malaprops also are used to good effect. As when lumbering brother Gustaf says, “It’s like Tom Cruise’s bar in Cockpit.”

Welcome to Sweden is more charming and amusing than laugh-out-loud funny. But its charms are considerable and the overall premise is bracingly unique. NBC spent tons of time and money in the past season on heavily promoted, high profile sitcoms starring Michael J. Fox and Sean Hayes. Both turned out to be epic failures.

If Welcome to Sweden doesn’t work, its failure won’t be epic. But during what used to be the throwaway summer season, this is a shining example of a comedy series that has a lot going for it in a smaller way.

Every year on this day we pay tribute to those who made The Dissed List, giving you a place to foam over:

The Good Wife. Neither the violent bumping off of Will Gardner (Josh Charles) in one of the TV season’s most buzzed about developments, nor the extremely aggressive For Your Consideration ad campaign, in which the show pointed out how easy is life for its competition with their 7-episode (Mad Men), 8-episode (Breaking Bad), and 12-13 episode (Homeland, House of Cards) seasons, compared to the grueling challenges of a CBS drama, appears not to have impressed the Academy in the best-drama category (though Charles and star Julianna Margulies are nommed).

The Walking Dead. Despite high hopes among its fan base that this would be the year AMC’s Dead broke out of the makeup and special effects nomination categories, the show instead will have to stagger along with its astounding demo ratings success — including a take-down of NFL football – but no Best Drama Emmy prestige.

Tatiana Maslany. After being snubbed by the TV Academy but showered with love by TV critics for her groundbreaking performance as not one, not two, but eight clones and counting, on BBC America’s Orphan Black, many industry navel lint gazers thought this would be the year the TV Academy finally got it right. They were wrong.

Duck Dynasty. When the TV Academy announced it had split the Best Reality Program derby into two categories this year — Structured and Unstructured – it gave four examples of series that had never won: eight-times a bridesmaid Antiques Roadshow, and four-time non-winner MythBusters would qualify in the Structured division, the academy said. And the org hinted to its members, by naming Duck Dynasty, and Pawn Stars as possible players in the Unstructured competition. This morning, Roadshow and Mythbusters picked up their usual noms. Duck Dynasty and Pawn Stars? Snubbed.

The Blacklist. Sure it’s the most CBS-ish primetime series that’s not actually on CBS, and Emmy nom voters don’t much like CBS dramas as a rule – but doesn’t’ the series get any credit for saving NBC?

James Spader. Nobody gives a big ol’ Emmy-targeting-episode speech like Spader – it’s won him three previous Best Drama Actor Emmys. But Spader could not overcome the fact he’s starring in a broadcast drama and the Academy these days is infatuated with drama actors on cable and streamed series. Adding to the poignancy, two of the Drama-Series Actor slots that might have gone to Spader instead went to the stars of HBO’s True Detective — actors who always said they were doing just one season and out, on the program that will have a new storyline each season, and some felt strongly should have been required to compete as a miniseries.

Burton and Taylor. Did academy members mistake this BBC America movie, in which Helena Bonham Carter and Dominic West played acting couple Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor as they prepare for a 1983 theatrical production, with that other Liz life movie starring Lindsay Lohan?

Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Sure a best comedy nomination for a freshman series is always a long-shot with the TV Academy, but there was an impressive door opener for this NBC series: a Golden Globe win.

Andy Samberg. Samberg won for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Comedy or Musical at this year’s Golden Globes, for Brooklyn Nine-Nine. TV Academy members were not amused.

Jay Leno. Sure, he had to endure getting dumped — twice — from NBC’s Tonight Show. Sure he had to pretend – again – that he was proud to turn over his late-night desk to the younger guy. But now he has to watch Fallon get the nom during Jay’s last eligible year as show host? That’s the very definition of Emmy snub.

The Newsroom. No need to make room among the crowd of West Wing best-drama statuettes in Aaron Sorkin’s curio cabinet. Maybe the HBO show will catch an Academy last-season break next time around. There’s still time to write in an appearance by President Josiah Bartlet.

Homeland. Best Drama Series winner in 2012, Best Drama Writing winner in 2013, and the show’s Best-Actor winner of 2012, Damian Lewis got bumped off in mid-season, thereby semi-qualifying for the TV Academy’s weakness for TV series executions — and still, no Best-Drama nom this year for the Showtime series.

Michael Sheen. A Brit, with a film career, and a starring role in a cable TV series that’s medically-themed (kinda) – Sheen seemed like a good bet, to start a Hugh Laurie-esque run. But it was not to be.

Liev Schreiber. Critics hailed his understated, powerful performance on Showtime’s Ray Donovan, so Schreiber had looked to be a contender. Too ‘noir’ for the TV Academy – or too new?

The Americans. The Academy’s cold war against FX’s spys-among-us period drama continues, despite its Washington setting so in vogue these days on TV. The series got left out in its genre; stars Kerri Russell and Matthew Rhys also woke up to no noms .

Shameless. Showtime’s onetime Best Drama contender switched camps hoping it would have better luck competing as a comedy. “No dice,” responded the TV Academy this morning.

Network TV continues to slide farther and farther down the TV totem pole with regards to quality programming when you look at the Emmy nominations. At the same time, it's also a shame a quality show like Person of Interest gets no nods of any kind, particularly with cast members. Still, can network TV writers not write the same kinds of shows that dominate cable without all the cussing and other stuff that cause some of these shows to be placed on cable in the first place?

In one of the biggest Emmy reshuffles, voters welcomed “Silicon Valley” to the Outstanding Comedy Category — essentially replacing “Girls” with another HBO show with almost no girls.

Besides “Girls,” the only show nominated in the category that didn't return this year is the Tina Fey-led “30 Rock” — which wasn't eligible because it ended. But it wasn't all bad news for women-dominated shows: Netflix's “Orange Is the New Black” also joined the category.

It wasn't all bad news for “Girls”: Star and creator Lena Dunham was still nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, and her co-star Adam Driver got a supporting actor nod.

“Girls” has plenty of strong male characters, but “Silicon Valley” is light on women. Amanda Crew, who plays Monica, provides the only regular dose of estrogen in “Silicon Valley,” a show that is, like the real Silicon Valley, dominated by men.

It's a situation the show's executive producers plan to change in future seasons. But in their first season, they said they were simply reflecting the realities of the tech world.

“It's definitely one of those super relevant hot-button issues that if we're lucky enough to do a second season we would love to steer right in the middle of,” Alec Berg told TheWrap. “That and the class issues and gentrifying, these are super relevant things and if we can come up with the definitive satirical take on them — if not this show, then who?”

“It's not an excuse, but the most sexist shot in the entire series is a real shot we got when we were at TechCrunch Disrupt of this massive room and there's like two women and 300 dudes in it,” he added. “And it's a real shot. It's not something we crafted.”

TV/Business NotesAereo Now Considers Itself a Cable CompanyLetter filed with New York district court
By Erik Oster, AdWeek.com - Jul. 10, 2014

Aereo is not dead yet.

Lawyers representing Aereo filed a letter to a New York district court yesterday, stating that the company now considers itself a cable provider, which was documented in a post on the company's blog.

Aereo suspended its service last month following a ruling by the Supreme Court that found its offerings to be illegal. Aereo backer Barry Diller previously stated that such a decision would mean that the company would be "finished," but now it seems Aereo is not willing to give up the fight. The letter comes one week after CEO Chet Kanojia called on subscribers to petition lawmakers to change copyright laws, TechCrunch reported, pointing out that this makes Aereo's latest strategy something of a "backup backup plan" despite initially appearing to not want to fight the Supreme Court decision. But since the Supreme Court based that decision on a comparison to Aereo as equivalent to service offered by a cable provider, the company is now attempting to use that ruling to its advantage in its latest legal argument.

"The Supreme Court’s holding that Aereo is a cable system under the Copyright Act is significant because, as a cable system, Aereo is now entitled to the benefits of the copyright statutory license pursuant to the Copyright Act," said Aereo's lawyers in their letter to the district court judge. "Aereo is proceeding to file the necessary statements of account and royalty fees."

Broadcasters, however, argue that Aereo can't claim this defense, since its past statements claimed that the company was not a cable provider.

In their decision, the Supreme Court affirmed "non-simultaneous playback from copies created by consumers," which has led TechCrunch, among others, to conjecture that "we could see the company continue with options for users to play back TV shows later" should their latest defense fail. For now, there's at least hope for Aereo, which many assumed was ready to throw in the towel.

TV Sports/Nielsen NotesUnivision’s World Cup Pitch to Women Pays Off
By Richard Sandomir, The New York Times - Jul. 10, 2014

Three months before the World Cup, Univision unveiled its plan to reach female viewers, many of whom are devoted to the Spanish-language media giant’s daytime talk shows and telenovelas.

The primary weapon has been a series of promotional ads that overtly emphasize the multitude of manly qualities of various star footballers — with a woman’s sultry voice-over.

“Ladies, the wait is over,” the narrator says, as video of players like Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Javier Hernández, Iker Casillas, Fabian Johnson and Gonzalo Higuaín fills the screen, mostly in slow motion. “The perfect man is arriving. Athletic. Sensitive. Devoted. Talented. Passionate. Nothing can stop him. He strives to get my attention. Very soon, we’ll admire the perfection of those men who give it all for love.”

The strategy to link soccer and the steaminess of telenovelas appears to have worked. Combined with other elements designed to attract female fans of Univision’s lifestyle programming, weekday World Cup viewership for women 18 to 49 has soared by 74 percent, to 646,000, from the regular programming in the month before the tournament began.

“With the tremendous growth we’re seeing, we assume the campaign helped,” said Debbie Shinnick, Univision’s senior vice president for network sales and strategy research. “We can look to see the percentages of people who saw the promos and tuned in to the World Cup.”

Over all, Univision’s World Cup viewership has climbed 38 percent, to 3.25 million, through the first 60 matches preceding Germany’s 7-1 thrashing of Brazil on Tuesday. So it is likely that more women were already going to watch the games. But Univision wanted to be certain that it attracted as many women as possible to matches at a time when they were already watching the network.

“It wasn’t so much a challenge, but an opportunity,” said Jessica Rodriguez, executive vice president for the Univision Agency, which runs the media planning for the company’s television, radio and digital operations. “When you think of World Cup, you think men will be there and they’ll watch. The World Cup was being in Brazil, and so many of our countries were being represented on our home turf, in daytime.” She added, “So we overtly focused on women in our campaign — and we went unabashedly after them.”

On June 17, the Brazil-Mexico match attracted 1.6 million women from 18 to 49, a shade more than the 1.5 million men in the same age group who were watching.

In addition to the ads emphasizing the players’ myriad attributes, Univision produced an ad with two men and a woman watching soccer in a bar, which Rodriguez said would probably have featured three men four years ago; carried a 15-minute segment on the morning show “Despierta América” with a group of women discussing the preceding day’s matches; and informed viewers of its World Cup studio shows about players’ wives and children.

Univision was not the only network to benefit from increased female viewership. Through the quarterfinals, ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC averaged 656,000 women in the 18-to-49 age group, up 39 percent from four years ago.

With the World Cup about to end, Univision is appealing to the women who tuned in to the tournament to return to the regular daytime schedule. “We believe a lot of women who watched the matches aren’t necessarily core telenovelas viewers,” Rodriguez said. “Now we can tell them, ‘You loved the sexy strong men in the World Cup — and they’re waiting for you in the telenovelas.’ ”

CBS’s highly anticipated new drama “Extant” had a so-so premiere last night.

The new show did become the top debut of the summer among adults 18-49 and total viewers, but it barely finished ahead of a repeat of “America’s Got Talent” in its timeslot.

“Extant” posted a 1.7 18-49 rating, according to Nielsen overnights, winning the 9 p.m. timeslot by 0.1 over a “Talent” rerun.

“Extant” got a good lead-in from “Big Brother,” the night’s highest-rated show, which posted a 1.9 at 8 p.m. And the new drama averaged a strong 9.4 million total viewers and was the night’s top show among adults 25-54 with a 2.4.

But considering the big promotional push behind “Extant,” which stars Oscar winner Halle Berry, the bow didn’t have a lot of oomph.

Elsewhere last night, Fox’s “So You Think You Can Dance” posted a 1.2 in 18-49s, down a tenth from last week.

And NBC’s “Taxi Brooklyn” was even to last week with a 1.0.

CBS finished first for the night with a 1.6 rating and 6 share. NBC was second with a 1.3/5, Fox and Univision tied for third with a 1.2/4 apiece, ABC was fifth with a 1.0/3, Telemundo was sixth with a 0.6/2, and the CW was seventh with a 0.3/1.

At 8 p.m., CBS’s “Brother” took first with a 1.9, followed by the first hour of NBC’s “Talent” repeat in second with a 1.3. Fox’s “Dance” finished third with a 1.2, Univision’s “De Que Te Quiero, Te Quiero” was fourth with a 1.0, ABC’s repeats of “The Middle” and “The Goldbergs” were fifth with a 1.0, Telemundo’s “Reina de Corazones” was sixth with a 0.5, and the CW’s “iHeart Radio Pool Party” was seventh with a 0.3.

At 9 p.m., CBS stayed in first with a 1.7 for “Extant.” NBC moved to second with a 1.6 for the second hour of the “Talent” repeat, followed by Univision’s “Lo Que La Vida Me Robo” in third with a 1.3. Fox’s “Dance” tied with repeats of ABC’s “Modern Family” and “Middle for fourth with a 1.2. Telemundo’s “En Otra Piel” took sixth with a 0.5, and the CW’s “Whose Line is It Anyway?” placed seventh with a 0.2.

CBS’s “Criminal Minds” repeat and Univision’s “Que Pobres Tan Ricos” tied for first place at 10 p.m., each with a 1.2. NBC’s “Taxi” placed third with a 1.0, Telemundo’s ” El Señor de los Cielos” was fourth with a 0.9, and ABC’s “Motive” was fifth with a 0.8.

Among households, CBS finished first for the night with a 4.7/8. NBC was second with a 3.4/6, Fox was third with a 2.6/5, ABC was fourth with a 2.5/4, Univision was fifth with a 1.6/3, Telemundo was sixth with a 0.8/1, ION was seventh with a 0.7/1, and the CW was eighth with a 0.6/1.

Cabler truTV has greenlit four unscripted series as part of its continued brand evolution and has expanded the episode order for upcoming reality show “Way Out West.”

“Branson Famous” (working title) goes behind the scenes of the longest-running variety show in Branson, Mo., “The Baldknobbers Jamboree.” The show follows the Mabe family’s challenges as the show slips into financial decline and faces difficulties in town.

“Hack My Life,” a comedic take on the never-ending supply of life hacks designed to save time, money and effort. The show offers step-by-step instructions on how to incorporate the cheats into everyday life.

“Kart Life” takes viewers into the world of kart racing, following the kids and parents as they pursue the prize: landing a national ranking and a shot at one day becoming a professional driver.

"The Shake Up,” a competition reality series, seeks to settle which bar owners have the best recipe for success. In each episode, comedian Mo Mandel (Comedy Central) travels to a different city and pits two bar owners against each other by challenging them to turn the most profit while running the other’s bar.

All four series are slated to air this fall and winter. The Western reality series “Way Out West” is set to premiere July 21.

Earlier this year the network began revamping its programming lineup with series such as “The Carbonaro Effect” and “Motor City Masters,” seeking to offer a variety of action, comedy and competition series with new setttings and stories.

“TruTV is working with an outstanding group of creators who are providing each of our series with a unique and surprising point of view,” said Chris Linn, president and head of programming for truTV, in a statement. “We are creating innovative and clever programming with a goal to make truTV a fun ride for grownups and a refreshing alternative in a landscape where so many shows look and feel the same.”

The Turner-owned network, which at one time was Court TV, also is rolling out a slightly tweaked logo to reflect its refreshed programming.

Sean Bean may be the most killed off actor working today. By some accounts, he’s been hanged, shot, and otherwise whacked about 25 times. He’s even compiled a list of My Top 5 Death Scenes. Now, he’s starring in a new TNT series, Legends, debuting next month, playing an undercover agent working for the FBI’s Deep Cover Operations division. TV critics attending a Q&A session for the show at Summer TV Press Tour 2014 naturally wondered how long he’d last on the series– especially given that TNT had distributed T-shirts with the hashtag #DoneKillSeanBean before he took the stage.

“I’m going to be on this for a while,” Bean said, convincing few.

“What do you think about people’s interest in your characters dying on film and TV?” asked a critic.

“It’s quite bizarre,” he admitted. “I’ve died quite a few times, actually…maybe it’s the quality of my death people are fascinated by.

“Do you have a favorite death?” one critic asked, in rather loud taste.

“I liked the Lord Of The Rings [death]. It was quite an epic death,” Bean reminisced, fondly.

Critics asked exec producer David Wilcox point blank if Bean had been cast in the lead role because producers love knocking him off. “It’s not the main reason Sean was cast, but it’s certainly kind of a fun benefit that it’s gonna be a question,” Wilcox answered coyly, undoing Bean’s assurances.

In May of ’13, TNT greenlit spy drama Legends, starring Games Of Thrones alum Sean Bean and executive produced by Homeland‘s Howard Gordon and Alexander Cary. TNT has ordered 10 episodes of the series, which is being produced by Fox 21, for debut next month. Based on the book by master spy novelist Robert Littell, Legends centers on Martin Odum (Bean), an undercover agent working for the FBI’s Deep Cover Operations division. Martin has the uncanny ability to transform himself into a completely different person for each job. But he begins to question his own identity when a mysterious stranger suggests that Martin isn’t the man he believes himself to be.

Emmy NotesHere’s Why True Detective and Fargo Won’t Be Competing Against Each Other at the Emmys
By Denise Martin, Vulture.com (New York Magazine) - Jul. 10, 2014

You may be wondering why True Detective is competing in the Best Drama category at this year’s Emmys against long-running series like Breaking Bad. It’s a good question, and one that doesn’t have a logical answer. By all appearances and nearly every measure we can think of, True Detective is a limited series. Or a miniseries. Or an event series. Or whatever you want to call an eight-episode show that will reset its story, characters, and cast for its second season. You know which other show is doing that? FX’s Fargo, which also has plans to reincarnate entirely (save for the title). But look over there — Fargo is competing in the miniseries category. What gives?

Here’s how the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences defines a miniseries:

A miniseries is based on a single theme or story line, which is resolved within the piece. In a single awards year, all of the parts must be presented under the same title and have continuity of production supervision. A miniseries consists of two or more episodes with a total running time of at least four broadcast hours (at least 150 program minutes).

That’s pretty straightforward, and applies to both True Detective and Fargo. However, there is a caveat! The ruling on Emmy eligibility goes:

A limited-run series with a "created by" credit CANNOT enter as a miniseries unless the producer for the limited run series applies for and receives entitlement to dual qualification, i.e. qualification in more than one category, because of an affirmative determination by the Awards Committee that the limited run series has elements of both drama series and miniseries categories.

So, because True Detective executive producer Nic Pizzolatto has a “created by” credit — a classification the Writers Guild of America gives to the creators of a regular series — True Detective is eligible only for the Emmys’ drama series category by default. In fact, Pizzolatto would have had to petition ATAS’s awards committee to move out of the drama race and into the miniseries category. That’s what American Horror Story co-creator Ryan Murphy had to do for American Horror Story, which was revealed to be a closed anthology series after the first season’s story concluded. As for Fargo, the credit executive producer Noah Hawley received reads “created for television by” — and because that’s not the exact same thing as “created by,” the show was free to submit into the miniseries category without fuss.

Why True Detective and HBO would opt to compete in the more competitive drama race is another matter. We had a few theories, among them the idea that True Detective stands a much better chance of trumping the final season of Breaking Bad than Game of Thrones, and it has been several years since HBO took home best in show for drama, the most prestigious award doled out at the Emmys.

The ruling that the “created by” credit determines all is a weird technicality that probably needs to be revisited. Vulture asked ATAS senior vice-president of awards John Leverence if the organization was bothered that True Detective and Fargo, two shows that have the same closed structure and designs on rebooting next season, would be competing in separate categories. He told us, “The fact that you’re asking that question probably answers the question.”

It's easy to find outrage every year when the Emmy nominations are announced. But if you temper it for the sake of the Big Picture, some of the smaller surprises can be a salve.

Yeah, not this year.

This is not one of those years when Emmy voters get forgiveness on their oversights simply because they seemed to be progressive in a few categories. That's because the rubber-stamping seemed especially gratuitous and the Big Mistakes seemed more prominent and damning.

Tasked with celebrating and rewarding the achievements from within their own industry, Emmy voters continue to come off as half-involved, behind-the-times clock watchers instead of guardians. It's as if the admittedly daunting task of actively sampling the industry's ever-changing content makes them crumble before even making an effort.

I mean, even by the low bar of Emmy standards, 2014 is a real omnishambles.

If you're paying attention at all, Tatiana Maslany from BBC America's Orphan Black is not a dark-horse contender anymore. She should have been a slam dunk, not a snub for the second year running. Overlooking The Americans and The Good Wife as best drama is almost startling. In a world where Downton Abbey is going to get a slot, add Masters of Sex and The Walking Dead to that list.

Part of the yearly problem with the Emmys is the institutional habit of returning an ungodly percentage of past winners into the nomination ranks despite downturns in series' quality or superior acting performances from competitors. Modern Family has been on a creative slide and shouldn't have been rubber-stamped again this year (same goes for Downton Abbey), while an actor like Matthew Rhys loses out to Jeff Daniels, who's a fine actor, but neither he nor HBO's The Newsroom had the quality of Rhys or FX's ascendant series The Americans.
Even if Rhys was considered a long shot, James Spader was not. His exclusion qualifies as baffling even in a category so insanely competitive as best actor.

Perhaps the biggest issue that the Emmys haven't addressed adequately is reconfiguring the rules to reflect the magnitude of the industry. Even though "who got snubbed" stories will always be a staple of awards shows, the ferocity of those addressing Emmy snubs should be a clarion call for the Emmys to allow nomination totals to flex where necessary.

Television is clearly too vast for Emmy voters to adequately reward deserving participants within it. This is only a problem if your job is to do just that. Ahem. So what's holding back the notion of expanded totals in the categories? There need not be some hard and fast rule that each category will have 10 nominations (instead of five or six). Even though we're in an era where that kind of number could be filled pretty easily, concerns over padding are legitimate if there's ever a downturn (though, looking back over the last decade, the trajectory of both content and quality is skyrocketing north, not dipping south). But if such concerns are impeding an overdue fix, simply allow for expansion on a per-category, per-year basis.

That way even when Emmy voters find room for, say, a comedy newcomer like HBO's Silicon Valley — a deserving contender — they don't also leave out Fox's Brooklyn Nine-Nine, NBC's Parks and Recreation or ABC's The Goldbergs. It would also allow for broader representation of comedies like FX's It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (and the worthy inclusion of that show's Kaitlin Olson among the actresses; or Wendi McLendon-Covey from The Goldbergs, as another example).

Expanding the categories also reduces the damage done by, say, having a wonderful actress like Edie Falco, whose role on Nurse Jackie is not particularly funny, squeeze out the aforementioned Olson or McLendon-Covey. Because when that happens, as it did this year, it magnifies the egregious mistakes of Emmy voters — highlighting such elements as ongoing historic snubs (It's Always Sunny) and modern mistakes (Brooklyn Nine-Nine and its own Andy Samberg, The Goldbergs and McLendon-Covey, etc).

Expanded nominations would reduce the damage done by allowing a show like Nurse Jackie to be considered a comedy, or Showtime's other overt drama, Shameless, to shift into the comedy category. Yes, it got William H. Macy a nomination but did nothing to help the fact that Emmy Rossum has been one of the best drama actresses of the last few years with nothing to show for it. Larger categories also, by the way, eliminate the need to use fine actors like Daniels and Falco as the culprits behind larger snubs; they can rightly be recognized on their own merits.

Clearly something has to be done to the Emmys so that what happened this year doesn't continue to happen. It's great that HBO's True Detective and Netlix's Orange Is the New Black had such strong showings. But the former is really a miniseries and should be in that category. However, since HBO was clearly of the mind that True Detective was likely its best shot for a drama win (since Game of Thrones has been ignored), allowing it in the drama category doesn't hurt The Americans or Masters of Sex or The Walking Dead or Orphan Black if the category itself is allowed to expand. Without that flexibility, critics like myself are left to smack our heads and weep about The Americans (including Keri Russell's omission in the best actress category, plus some wonderful acting work on those other aforementioned dramas).

You're seeing a pattern here, yes?

Perhaps the biggest gripe generated by so many oversights this year is that it didn't need to happen but will most assuredly happen again if something isn't done — and fast — to fix it. With Netflix and Amazon and Hulu generating content from their platforms and niche cable channels delivering quality dramas and comedies and the acting performances to go with them, it's glaringly obvious that the Emmys have been caught flat-footed at the evolution of their own industry.

There's an embarrassment of creative riches in television right now. If the Emmys can't find a way to recognize that, then the emphasis shifts off of the creative riches and onto the embarrassment. Which is precisely where we are now.

The second World Cup semifinal match between the Netherlands and Argentina, which the latter won on penalty kicks, was the most-watched show on cable for the day, averaging 5.5 million total viewers, according to Nielsen overnights.

Not only that, it was the highest-rated program on any network Wednesday among adults 18-49, posting a 2.0 rating. That was a tenth higher than the top program on broadcast, CBS’s “Big Brother,” which posted a 2.0.

Elsewhere Wednesday, A&E’s “Duck Dynasty” posted a 1.4 in the demo, up a tenth from last week and tying two repeats of “Family Guy” on Adult Swim as the No. 2 show of the day on cable.

Cinemax has renewed Steven Soderbergh’s “The Knick” for season 2 ahead of its series premiere on Aug. 8, the network announced Thursday at the Television Critics Assn. summer press tour.

The second season will also consist of 10 episodes. Soderbergh confirmed he will direct the entire season, as he did with season 1. Set in downtown New York in 1900, “The Knick” centers on the Knickerbocker Hospital and its groundbreaking surgeons, nurses and staff, who push the bounds of medicine in a time of astonishingly high mortality rates and zero antibiotics.

“I’m going to do all 10 — you’re seeing a trend now of … a sense that there’s a positive aspect to having a visual language that’s very specific and very unified throughout the show,” Soderbergh noted. “It’s not only creatively satisfying, but also, practically speaking, better … in terms of economics … we schedule it like a film.”

Rumors of Soderbergh’s retirement were apparently greatly exaggerated, and the director wryly noted, “It’s sort of unfortunate that people have to keep listening to me explain why I went back to work.”

He added, “11 months ago, I did not think I’d be sitting here talking about 10 hours of material that is behind us and 10 hours in front of us, but I had a very similar reaction to the one Clive had when I read the first script … I knew that, as the first person who got to take a look at it, the second person who was going to see it would say yes. My whole life, I’ve moved in any direction that I felt was going to engage me and excite me.”

Hot off its leading 99 Emmy nominations, HBO CEO Richard Plepler and his programming president Michael Lombardo took the stage Thursday at the Television Critics Association summer press tour to a barrage of questions.

Among the queries from reporters lining the room: the future of Curb Your Enthusiasm, the prospects for a Games of Thrones movie and how the red-hot True Detective was able to muscle its way into the Emmys' drama category rather than the lower-profile miniseries one.

Garnering significantly less airtime during the lower-key half-hour panel was talk of the competition — a shift from last year's session, which devoted heavy focus to the entrance and impact of Netflix. Lombardo couldn't come up with anything — genre or otherwise — missing from his schedule, and Plepler noted that the TV business wasn't a zero-sum game. In fact, he used the platform to tout his programs and the competition's, noting that he's a fan of series including FX's The Bridge and Fargo and AMC's Mad Men.

Here's a look at some of the other topics addressed:

Curb Your Doubts

Don't count Curb Your Enthusiasm out just yet. Lombardo told the room full of reporters that he ran into Larry David recently and asked the elusive creator and star whether he and his colleagues at HBO should "emotionally" get Curb out of their heads. David, who famously decides if and when he's ready to continue with his critically adored comedy, responded: "No, no, no." A reporter inquired as to whether Lombardo had ever dealt with anyone like David before, and the HBO programming chief deadpanned: "Nope."

True Detective's Future

Much to the room's chagrin, the pair had no casting announcements to share. Lombardo promised that those much-speculated names will be revealed shortly, perhaps even in the next week. And while he says he hasn't felt obligated to cast more A-list stars — careful to note that Matthew McConaughey wasn't the star he became care of his Oscar-winning turn in Dallas Buyers Club — those hired likely will be well-known actors. As for the decision to submit it as a drama rather than a miniseries, Lombardo noted of its move, which netted 12 noms for the network: "Nic [Pizzolatto] pitched an anthology series, we marketed it as an anthology series, and we think about it as an anthology series." What he could reveal from the stage is that he's received the first two scripts and he's ecstatic: "The two scripts we have are — I hate to jinx it — but they are more exciting than the first season."

Game of Thrones: No Books, No Problem

If fans are concerned that the HBO drama will outpace the George R.R. Martin's book series on which it's based, the HBO execs insist they're not. Lombardo noted that Martin is an integral piece of the show's creative process, and he'll continue to work closely with the series, whether or not he has source material to offer. As for the rumblings from Martin about a Game of Thrones movie, the execs said that there are no film talks taking place at this time. "In my conversations with George, he's 100 percent focused on the books and the show," said Plepler, who won't rule out the option of a film project down the road.

Open Still Open

While Ryan Murphy's pilot Open won't be ordered to series as is, Lombardo acknowledged that he's not ready to give up on it just yet. When the pilot actors become available again this fall, he said the hope is to be able to do more shooting on the project. "We'd love nothing more than to make something work," Lombardo said of his collaboration with Murphy, whose The Normal Heart delivered big with 16 Emmy nominations Thursday.

The Comeback's Comeback

Lombardo credited two of his execs for The Comeback's return. Without naming names, he said two of his employees came to him as fans and said they'd love to revive the Lisa Kudrow comedy about "B-level" TV star Valerie Cherish, known for being a pioneer of reality television. When HBO reached out to Kudrow and creator Michael Patrick King about the idea, the pair came in for a meeting and shared both the execs' desire and enthusiasm. Said Lombardo of the conversations that have occurred in the months since: "It's as if they've been thinking about this for the last 10 years."

Summer TCA Tour NotesHBO Does Its Best To Manage Expectations On ‘The Comeback’s Future
By Lisa De Moraes, Deadline.com - Jul. 10, 2014

Various parties have different versions of why HBO is bringing back its one-season comedy series The Comeback, whose last season in original episodes was 2005. Co-creator Michael Patrick King said he and co-creator/star Lisa Kudrow used to talk about lead character Valerie over the years and wondered what she was up to, but they never mentioned the idea of revisiting the show. “It was too much of an emotional risk,” Kudrow told TV critics attending TCA Summer TV Press Tour. “Even to say it,” King chimed in. “Then we got a call from HBO to talk about it.”

HBO EVP Casey Bloys explained he’d been a fan of the show but, when some member of the media attending the Press Tour suggested there had been a “groundswell” of viewer support for the idea of bringing back the comedy, he responded, “I wouldn’t say ‘groundswell.’” Instead, he explained, “HBO is in a different place than it was nine years ago, and we have the room to bring it back, and the future of the network does not depend on the show.” Where we come from, this is known as “damning with faint praise.”

Kudrow again will play Valerie Cherish — the formerly in-demand TV starlet who began to age-out of the business and agreed to allow cameras to follow her every move, reality-TV style, as she appeared in a new TV sitcom. It was a bid to remain relevant, with disastrous results.

Kudrow and King said they’re thrilled to be able to bring Valerie back. But Bloys said HBO has ordered just six episodes for the second season and has not locked in the cast and creators for a potential third. “We didn’t build it as a series,” Bloys said, in re a question as to whether it could go for more seasons. “It could happen, maybe,” he said cautiously. “It’s hard to say. If it does fantastic and everybody loves it…” Then King let the exec off the hook by adding, “If everybody loves it, that will be enough – and if there is more, that will be better.”

When King and Kudrow explained the six-episode season will have a beginning, middle and end, one critic asked if it that meant Valerie dies at the end of the run. TV critics are morbid by nature.

“No! Valerie doesn’t die!,” King responded. “Why would she? She’s an actress.” Kudrow then pointed out, “It’s not Game of Thrones.”

HBO ran the first season of its dark comedy series Getting On in November. It’s about nurses working in the women’s extended-care facility of a Long Beach hospital and stars Laurie Metcalf, Alex Borstein and Niecy Nash. You may have missed it; the premium network only aired six episodes, with no big promotional push – not even a Q&A session at a TCA Press Tour. The cast and creators finally got that Q&A time today – and immediately got asked if they were miffed at the way HBO has handled, or not handled, their series.

Exec producer Mark V. Olsen responded diplomatically that they felt they’d delivered a great product and ended the first season “with a sense of satisfaction.” He and EP Will Scheffer — they created HBO’s polygamy drama Big Love together — acknowledged that the scheduling and lack of promotional push “created a narrative we were being dumped there.” But they insisted the show never was planned to get a big promotional push. “We’re a … tiny show, unlike any other show on HBO,” Olsen said. “We’re a guerrilla show. We were always going to come in under the radar.”

Dubious critics noted HBO did not pick up a second season of the U.S. version of the award-winning BBC Four medical comedy until after the first season wrapped, which usually is not considered a vote of great confidence in the franchise.

“I don’t think we’ve ever heard a showrunner say, ‘We didn’t want our show to get promotion,’” a TV critic noted before asking dubiously, “Was there an actual conversation, where [HBO] said, ‘Do you want a lead-in?’ and you said ‘No,’ and they said, ‘Do you want ads?’ and you said ‘No’?”

The two EPs confirmed that there was such a conversation, with HBO and with producing partner BBC, in which they were asked, “What is this kind of show and what is the best say of launching this show?” At that meeting, the decision was made to cast this series as “the little engine that could” rather than as a big project “inflated on a false balloon.”

El Rey Network has renewed the spy soccer thriller “Matador” for a second season — nearly a week before the series debuts.

The announcement came Thursday at El Rey's Television Critics Association panel. “Matador” will get another 13 episodes in its second run.

The show follows the Tony “Matador” Bravo (Gabriel Luna), an undercover DEA agent turned deep undercover professional soccer player. It also stars Nicky Whelan, Neil Hopkins and Tanc Sade. “Matador” was created by Roberto Orci.

“When Roberto first told me his concept for ‘Matador,’ I knew immediately that it had to have a home on El Rey,” Rodriguez said in a statement. “This show exceeded every possible expectation we had in terms of great storytelling, incredible action and unique characters.”

“Working with Robert and El Rey has been such a unique experience,” Orci added. “We've been given enormous creative freedom and have delivered the show exactly as we envisioned. We have so much story left to tell and thank El Rey and Robert for their unending support for a show that celebrates a new kind of hero on television.”

“Matador” premieres on Robert Rodriguez's network at 9 p.m. ET on Tuesday.

Jumping into the season two premiere of Netflix‘*s “Hemlock Grove,” keeping track of who has been resurrected from the dead is no simple feat. Yet among these scientific and supernatural wonders is this astonishing fact:

Olivia Godfrey — part family matriarch, part “Mommie Dearest” and played with sleek menace by Famke Janssen — has ditched her signature all-white wardrobe. Not since another Olivia — “Scandal’*s” Pope — stopped wearing those white suits has a television character demonstrated such character change through the embrace of bold colors.

“There was a conscious decision, this introduction to a new color palette,” said Ms. Janssen, whose Olivia was last seen being zipped into a body bag. “Olivia is Olivia, and we certainly set up a specific character but... in this season, I think we will see some unexpected turns in her character traits that I don‘*t think anyone would have seen coming.”

Netflix released the entire 13-episode season online today, and that‘*s a whole lot of blood-letting, leech consumption and dark brooding, the last from the series’* two male leads, Bill Skarsgard and Landon Liboiron. The story of the super-rich Godfrey clan and its gothic influence on the postindustrial town of Hemlock Grove picks up a few months later with more creepy human experimentation by the even creepier Dr. Pryce (Joel de la Fuente) and a plot device that forces werewolf Peter (Mr. Liboiron) to abandon his plans to head west.

His mother (Lili Taylor) was been arrested for theft. He needs to raise money for an attorney, who asks, “What was she planning to do with a baby elephant?” Peter explains, matter-of-factly, “She knew a guy.”

“Hemlock Grove” is based on a novel of the same title by Pittsburgh native Brian McGreevy. He and partner Lee Shipman wrote most of season one and served as executive producers but reportedly had nothing to do with the new episodes. Instead, they are attached to a new AMC series, “The Son.”

One of the criticisms of season one touched on the series‘* languid pace. Charles “Chic” Eglee, the new executive producer/showrunner whose career includes “The Shield,” “Dexter” and “Hill Street Blues,” said that has been stepped up.

“I’*m a big proponent of putting 15 pounds of story in a 5-pound bag.”

It‘*s there, all right, starting with a new life — and certainly not the first, second or even third — for Olivia. Mr. Eglee and Ms. Janssen confirmed with a certain glee that monsters, they’*re just like us. Even moms and their kids have to get past trying to kill one another.

“Olivia loves her son, but her son doesn‘*t know he loves her in the way he should love her back, so it remains a complicated relationship,” Ms. Janssen said.

“And as we know from real life,” added Mr. Eglee, “it’*s possible to love someone but be extremely angry at them, to hate them, even.”

Occasionally, a lack of resources breeds ingenuity, and so it is with “The Almighty Johnsons,” a Syfy import from New Zealand. The out-there premise — four brothers, each of whom, upon his 21st birthday, acquires the powers of a different Norse god — yields fewer pyrotechnics than one might expect, but creates intriguing discussion about the show’s peculiar backstory. Decidedly different content standards between American and Kiwi censors (there’s some obscured nudity and a lot of bleeped-out expletives) creates a bit of awkwardness, but here, that’s a quibble. While it’s popular for series to talk about their mythology, not many revel in the process with quite as much gusto as this one.

The introduction to this Asgardian birthright comes through Axl (Emmett Couling Skilton), who is just celebrating his 21st birthday. In the midst of his party, however, he’s dragged away from the friend who constantly looks longingly at him (“Whale Rider’s” Keisha Castle-Hughes, all grown up) by his three brothers, who fill in the disbelieving lad on the family legacy.

Not only do they each have unusual powers — diminished, admittedly, from what they once were — but Axl might be the reincarnation of Odin, which has enormous consequences. Simply put, he can either unite the gods and restore them to their lost glory, or, if he fails to achieve his destiny, lead to all of their deaths.

Written by James Griffin and directed by Mark Beesley, “Almighty Johnsons” contains only the smallest dollops of special effects, as the premiere relies on the characters talking about what might happen. Indeed, big brother Mike (Tim Balme) helps convince Axl — skeptical at first, but increasingly excited at the possibilities — by playing rock-paper-scissors, which, thanks to his god-like powers, he never loses. It’s about as low-tech a demonstration of magic as one could conceive.

And yet, it’s all strangely compelling and fun, if still a little half-baked, including what’s motivating the rival group apparently determined to prevent Axl from completing his mission by trying to kill the poor kid off.

Syfy has built international acquisitions of programs that fit its brand into the network’s programming — much of it from Canada, such as “Lost Girl” and “Continuum” — with mixed results.

By that measure, this Kiwi extract is certainly a cut above. And while the feeling isn’t quite like being struck by Thor’s proverbial thunderbolt, for a hardy few who don’t mind their gods in street clothes, it will be easy to develop a pretty sizable crush on “The Almighty Johnsons.”

Summer TCA Tour Notes‘Naked and Afraid’ stars discuss surviving the wilderness in the nude: ‘The naked part just adds to the challenge’
By David Hinckley, New York Daily News - Jul. 9, 2014

BEVERLY HILLS -- Several survivors of Discovery’s hit reality show “Naked and Afraid” insisted to TV critics at the TCA Press Tour Wednesday that “naked” is the least significant part of the experience.

“You’re not thinking about being naked, you’re thinking about surviving,” said Jeff Zausch.

“Clothing offers protection, like from bugs,” said Dani Julien. “The naked part just adds to the challenge.”

The premise of the show is that a man and a woman – strangers – are sent into a wilderness environment with no food or water and must survive for 21 days.

It was Discovery’s all-time highest rated premiere when it launched last season, with four million viewers.

“The first half hour, when you meet, is as awkward as it looks,” said Zausch. “But you forget about the naked part pretty quickly.”

Executive producer Steve Rankin said stripping the contestants of their clothes does have a psychological impact.

“It adds to the vulnerability,” he said.

The producers pixilate frontal nudity for the contestants, a process Rankin said is handled by six graphic designers “who go frame by frame.”

He joked that some male contestants “want us to make them a bigger blur.”

The contestants said that while they were all experienced survivalists, they also did some preparation for the show.

“But no, you don’t walk around naked,” said Justin Bullard. “That just adds to the degree of difficulty when you get there.”

Julien said she walked barefoot for a month to get her feet in shape. She also said that unlike most TV performers who try to lose weight when they know their body will be exposed on camera, “I gained about 10 pounds to store more protein.”

Contestant Eva Rupert said that the nudity and the rest were entirely incidental.

“Being on this show was a life-changing experience,” she said. “Being naked was just one more way it brought you down to the core of your existence.

“It was an opportunity to grow as a person. It was an honor to be on the show.”

When the contestants were asked “what was the most messed-up thing you did in the wilderness,” Rupert said, “Nothing was messed up, really. It was all about what you had to do to survive.”

Zausch said “biting the head off a lizard” was “something I didn’t expect I’d be doing.”

Contestants don’t win a prize for surviving, but they do get paid for their filming time. The show has been shot in places such as Madagascar and Namibia.

The Discovery series' success has spawned other “naked” shows, including VH1’s upcoming naked dating show. The producers of “Naked and Afraid” downplayed any sense they had pushed an envelope or helped launch a trend.